Top Russian Official Tried to Broker ‘Backdoor’ Meeting Between Trump and Putin  —  WASHINGTON — A senior Russian official who claimed to be acting at the behest of President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia tried in May 2016 to arrange a meeting between Mr. Putin and Donald J. Trump, according to several people familiar with the matter.

In Mocking Franken Over Claims of Sexual Misconduct, Trump Joins a Debate He Started  —  WASHINGTON — Last fall, Donald J. Trump inadvertently touched off a national conversation about sexual harassment when a recording of him boasting about groping women was made public at the same …

Republican Governors' 2018 Dilemma: What to Do About Trump?  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — For nearly a decade, meetings of the Republican Governors Association were buoyant, even giddy, affairs, as the party — lifted by enormous political donations and a backlash against the Obama administration …

AGENCY:  —  Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.  —  ACTION:  —  Notice.  —  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has made a finding that the killing of African elephant trophy animals in Zimbabwe, on or after January 21, 2016, and on or before December 31, 2018, will enhance the survival of the African elephant.

Fire dept. refuses to remove confederate flag so county axes funding  —  TROY, N.C. - There's a Confederate flag battle going on in a small town in Montgomery County.  —  TROY, N.C. - There's a Confederate flag battle going on in a small town in Montgomery County.

Greg Gianforte misled police after assault of Guardian journalist, report reveals … US congressman Greg Gianforte misled police after his assault of Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs in May, falsely stating that Jacobs had initiated physical contact and that the “liberal media …

Sean Spicer Is Resetting His Post-White House Career Strategy  —  The former press secretary didn't land a lucrative TV news pundit job.  Now both Spicer and Washington super lawyer/agent Bob Barnett are distancing themselves from each other.  —  At first, Sean Spicer's exit …

How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York's Subways  —  Disruptions and delays have roiled the system this year.  But the crisis was long in the making, fueled by a litany of errors, a Times investigation shows.  —  After a drumbeat of transit disasters this year …

‘Girls’ Writer Murray Miller Accused of Raping Underage Actress Aurora Perrineau (Exclusive)  —  “Passengers” star says she woke up in 2012 with Murray “on top of me having sexual intercourse with me”  —  Actress Aurora Perrineau has gone to police to accuse “Girls” writer …

Focus group: Trump risking supporters by picking Twitter fights  —  President Trump's Twitter habits in the White House could be costing him a key demographic of voters ahead of elections in 2018 and 2020, according to an online focus group convened by former Obama campaign manager Jim Messina.

Trump still loves polls  —  The president often decries surveys showing him with slumping support as fake, but advisers say he can't stop himself from obsessively keeping track.  —  As a TV host, Donald Trump loved ratings.  As president, he loves polls—as long as they show him on the upswing.

How a conservative group dealt with a fondling charge against a rising GOP star  —  On a fall evening two years ago, donors gathered during a conference at a Ritz-Carlton hotel near Washington to raise funds for a 31-year-old candidate for the Ohio legislature who was a rising star in evangelical politics.

Navy says it will hold Whidbey Island aircrew accountable for tracing giant phallus over Okanogan County  —  ryanc@spokesman.com  —  (509) 598-0014  —  Look!  Up in the sky!  —  It's a bird.  —  It's a plane.  —  No, it's a phallic skydrawing, and a military aircraft is the culprit.